James Wallace Fall tells cops the Bible made it OK to marry, assault 9-year-old niece

People use the Bible to justify all kinds of insanity; James Wallace Fall allegedly says it made it OK for him to marry his 9-year-old niece and sexually assault her for years. The girl, who is now an adult, came forward to the Mound Police Department in January.

"Victim 1 reported that the Defendant and his wife obtained custody of her and her siblings when she was approximately nine years old," the complaint says. "Victim 1 described the first sexual assault as occurring when they went on a vacation to Yellowstone National Park. While on that vacation, the Defendant touched her on her vagina, but did not penetrate her. At some point thereafter, the Defendant made Victim 1 his "wife." As the years went by, the Defendant spent every other night in Victim 1's bedroom. As far as Victim 1 knew, the Defendant was only having sex with her and not with his wife, Victim 1's aunt."

In recent years police were called to the home to talk with Fall's wife and the niece about alleged abuse, but both denied it, according to police reports.
"He really believes that this is OK," Mound Police Chief James Kurtz said. "I don't know how long he's believed that."

From the sounds of it, prosecutors and Fall's lawyer are wondering about his sanity.

"From a religious perspective this is very unusual," said Risk, who does not expect to use polygamy or religious freedom as a defense. "We need to explore his mental health. Mr. Fall has a firm set of beliefs. That is something we will have to look at. Some of his beliefs are outside the norm and would cause someone to question his competency."